The swan is said to sing but once in its life-when it knows that it is about to die. A certain man, who had heard of the song of the swan, one day saw one of these birds for sale in the market, and bought it and took it home. A few days later, he invited some friends to have meal. He introduced the swan, and bade it sing for their entertainment, but the swan remained silent. In course of time, when it was growing old, it became aware of its approaching end and broke into a sweet, sad song. When its owner heard it, he said angrily, "If the creature only sings when it is about to die, what a fool I was that day I wanted to hear its song! I ought to have wrung¹ its neck instead of merely inviting² it to sing."

 

据说，天鹅一生只唱一次歌，只有在他死期临近时才唱。一只曾经听过天鹅那优美歌声的人，偶然在市场上看到几只天鹅正待出售，便买了一只带回家。几天后，他邀请几个朋友来吃饭，并介绍了自己的天鹅，让他唱歌来助兴。可是，天鹅却始终保持沉默。后来，终于有一天，天鹅慢慢老了，他知道自己死期将至，便展开歌喉，唱出了一曲甜美哀婉的歌，主人听到后，生气地说：“如果你真是临死前才肯唱歌，那我多么愚蠢呀！我真应该在那天拧断你的脖子，而不仅仅是让你唱歌了。“

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